NIGERIA HOUSES OF HORROR (PART XII)

“Christ Is Not Enough Christianity”

By Akin Ojumu

Mysticism, like every other sinful plot hatched in the dark recesses of the human soul, is rooted in unbelief. What fuels the incessant quest for mystical encounters by a large swathe of Churchgoers in Nigeria is the belief in the demon-spurn lie that the Bible is not enough.

Fully convinced that Scripture is inadequate for the attainment of a full spiritual experience as a Christian, a vast majority of people who fill the Church pews in Nigeria set out in pursuit of other things to make up for what they perceive to be lacking. Because for them Christ is not enough, it has to be Christ plus some esoteric experiences.

As soon as one does not completely and wholeheartedly and unreservedly trust in the Word of God as absolutely true and the source of our highest joy and greatest good and deepest satisfaction and broadest pleasure and most consummate fulfillment then mistrust has gained a foothold of sin in the heart (John MacArthur).

The mindset that Christ isn’t enough is nothing new. Since the beginning of time, Satan has always cast aspersions on the sufficiency of God and His Word in the hearts of man. The fall of man and the resulting corruption of the human soul by sin came about because Adam and Eve fell for the satanic lie that the Word of God cannot be trusted.

This was also true for the children of Israel on their way out of Egypt. Because they doubted the Word of God, they built an altar for themselves to worship an idol of their own making. As a result, they were made to wander in the wilderness for forty years. And every one of them, twenty years or older, who came out of Egypt, all dropped dead in the wilderness except for Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun.

Another place where we find the “you need Christ plus something else” mindset was among the Colossian Christians.

Founded by Epaphras, a companion of Apostle Paul, the Church at Colossae started fairly well. Their faith in Christ was authentic, bearing the visible fruit of love for all the saints. Having heard the Gospel preached to them, they went about their lives full of hope laid up for them in Heaven.

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints.” (Colossians 1:3-4).

As is always the case with all burgeoning Christian assemblies, certain men of evil intent crept into the Church and started to teach the people that Christ alone was not enough. These ravenous wolves convinced not a few among the congregation that they needed Christ plus something else in order to be right with God.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, these heretical teachings took hold in the Church. In Colossians 2, Paul addressed three of the heresies propagated by the false teachers to derail the faith of the Colossian believers.

First, it was the heresy of philosophy which Paul described as worthless and high-sounding nonsense that originated from the thoughts of men under the influence of demons:

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8).

Brainwashed by futile philosophies, beguiled by foolish human wisdom, and bewitched by flawless oratory of the false teachers, the Colossians surrendered themselves as captives to their defilers. Sold on the lie that they needed to attain some higher or deeper knowledge above and beyond the Gospel, the fledgeling believers easily capitulated.

Paul had to remind them that the so-called higher knowledge the heretics claimed to have was nothing more than worthless speculations, useless ideologies, and fruitless philosophies. He admonished the believers not to allow themselves to become prisoners to satanic inventions peddled by idle minds. In Christ, Paul told them, dwells all the fullness of God and they have been made complete in Christ.

Having dispatched with the foolishness of philosophy, Apostle Paul next took on the heresy of legalism. Concerned that the Colossians had allowed themselves to be shamed and humiliated by the Judaizing heretics into believing that faith in Christ is not enough to get them to Heaven unless and until they keep the Mosaic Law, Paul cautioned them against trading their freedom in Christ for a set of man-made legalistic rules of dos and don’ts.

“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17).

Paul urged the Colossians to resist the pressure and not allow anyone to condemn them on the account of their faith in the Gospel. He pleaded with them to reject the satanic lie that salvation comes from the keeping of the works of the Law. These things, Paul reminded them, are types and shadows. The substance is in Christ. And since Christ, the reality had already come, the shadows have become obsolete and no longer of value.

The third heresy making rounds in the Colossian Church was that of mysticism. This was the lie that deep spirituality and right standing with God was only attainable by those who experience mystical encounters and esoteric phenomena.

“Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.” (Colossians 2:18-19).

The false teachers convinced the Colossians they needed to achieve a higher, ascending, surpassing, paranormal, supernatural experience. The attainment of this experience, the heretics claimed, would bring about a higher and deeper spiritual knowledge. It’s only those who acquire this esoteric knowledge who go on to ascend to a level of mystical piety, which is a higher dimension of spirituality where they have all sorts of encounters with aeons, angels, demons, and emanations.

Paul implored the Colossians not to feel intimidated by these mystics and their claims of esoteric knowledge. These supposedly deeper and higher religious experiences are demon inspired irrational intuitions not founded on Scripture. It is another satanic lie that Christ is not enough; that they needed Christ plus something else.

What was so persuasive about the mystic heretics was their public show of humility. Even though they go on and on spinning fantastical tales of frequent visions, recurrent secret revelations, and numerous encounters with angels, they also tend to tell these stories sounding modest and looking humble.

You’d often hear a typical mystic heretic say:

“I know I’m nothing. I am the lowliest of the low. It’s so remarkable how the angels come to me, and God speaks to me, because, you know, I’m really nothing. Even though I have these astonishing visions, I’m visited by these angels, and I’ve been to heaven multiple times, I remain a small boy. It’s all for God’s glory.”

In reality, though, these celestial crawlers are puffed up in their fleshly mind. In fact, they are the very opposite of the humble self-abasing hyper-spiritual men of God they pretend to be.

Gnawed by the smarmy hypocrisy, Paul warned the Colossians not to let the heretics beguile them, woo them, deceive them, or deny them of their reward by getting swayed by some showy performative self-abasement.

You see, feeling proud about being humble is, in itself, pride. People who can’t stop talking about their humility aren’t really humble. Anyone eager to tell you how humble they are is someone full of pride in their heart.

And this is exactly what we find in the Myth and Mystery horror houses in Nigeria. The apostles of realms and dimensions enjoy telling cock and bull stories about their numerous angelic encounters and celestial junkets, but they do so with the appearance of humility. This gospel of “Christ is not enough” is what you hear them preached. It is a perverted version of the true Gospel that teaches people they need Christ plus something else.

We’ll take it from here next time.